General Care Discussion :: Pyramiding?

[sarahji]

Hello!

Is this little guy's shell pyramiding?

I've only had my little baby RES's for 2 weeks, and I can guarantee they weren't treated well before I bought them (housed in little plastic deathtraps, etc).

I have a cuttlefish bone in the tank for them to chew on and I leave full spectrum UVA/UVB lights on them during daylight hours. I've been feeding them a mixture of red leaf lettuce, sweet potato, pellets and romaine, with the occasional frozen krills for treats.

One thing I have been working on is trying to get the basking area up to a high enough temp to encourage them to bask more -- currently the thermometer (about 3 inches above the platform) is only getting up to 84 degrees, but I'm getting a higher watt bulb today to try to get it up to 90 to 95.

What do you guys think? Is his shell pyramiding? What can I do to stop it?

Thanks for all your help -- your expertise is invaluable!

[freshprince2146]

No. His shell is perfectly normal. Im pretty sure a turtle that small cannot pyramid since i may be wrong. But yea your turtles shell is normal.

[sarahji]

Oh good, I hope you're right! I wasn't sure if it's normal for the ridge on his back to be so high and pronounced.

[marisa]

He looks fine to me. Hatchlings tend to have raised spines, which become less prominant as they grow and the shell "fills out."

Pyramiding is when each individual scute becomes raised, giving the shell a lumpy appearance. Your baby has none of that.